The online home of Melissa Cole - award-winning beer and food writer and author of Let Me Tell You About Beer

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Eggstra, Eggstra!

As today I was able to announce that I’ll be compering the awesome Scotch Egg Challenge at The Ship on the banks of the Thames at Wandsworth on September 25, I thought I’d post my own modest offering.

I am, as they say, a bit of a bugger for a good Scotch Egg; when made fresh I think they are best served slightly warm and with a runny yolk, which is always a gamble when you can’t see what’s going on inside when you're frying it, but it’s worth a whirl nonetheless, and I think I’ve pretty much nailed it with this method.

Personally I like it with a good mustard mayonnaise or sauce to dip them in, but some people prefer some brown sauce - Daddies, HP or posher is, of course, down to you!

I do specify the type of black pudding in the recipe, but if you can’t get hold of Bury black pudding then try it with any other you can get your hands on, but do try and make sure it’s got a good ratio of chunky fat in it, it’ll help make your Scotch egg an unctuous thing of sheer beauty.

p.s. Sorry about lack of picture of my offering, some bugger has nicked my camera and that’s what the pictures of my gorgeous eggs were on :( So instead I shamelessly nicked this image from David Constable's blog Forever Eggsploring, he's the curator behind this competition and had the hard job of whittling down the entries along with the Ship guys & gals!

Meanwhile, very gently fry your onion, pepper, chilli & herbs until onion just softened in the butter with a little oil added

Place in sieve over some kitchen towel to drain, put in freezer to cool

Place two eggs in boiling water for five minutes and then plunge straight into bowl of iced water

Take your onion and herb mix out of the freezer; rub your hands with a little groundnut oil and squidge into the black pudding and sausage meat (it’s joyously mucky this bit!) and slowly add your beer, making sure you don’t make too sloppy a paste and that there’s still bits of whole black pudding in the mix

Pop in fridge for 10 minutes to mingle and become a touch firm

Take a foot long piece of cling film and oil it lightly, place half your meat mixture on it, lightly flour your carefully peeled egg and then use the cling film to mould the mixture around the egg

Repeat with other half and return to fridge for 10 minutes to firm up slightly

Whisk together your egg & milk, put in a dish and, in two other separate dishes put your breadcrumbs and flour

Heat your oil, in your large pan or deep-fat fryer to 170c

Remove your ‘naked’ Scotch eggs from the fridge, unwrap and dip in flour, then egg/milk mix and then breadcrumbs, repeat the egg and breadcrumb steps at least once, I tend to triple dip mine as I like a really good crunchy coating

Using your slotted spoon, lower the eggs gently into the oil and fry for approximately seven minutes, turning occasionally

When the eggs float they are done

Place on kitchen towel to drain and as soon as you can handle them without searing your fingertips, cut in half and serve with your sauce of choice – or just by themselves, your choice!

Beer Accompaniment:I am a big fan of a really good traditional pint of British bitter with these; I like the rest of the bottle of Black Sheep with them (if it lasts through the cooking process, which is unlikely) but have also found Fuller’s Chiswick, Young’s Bitter, Sambrook’s Wandle (in bottle that is, still not a huge fan of the cask) and have even found that a more robust ESB will go well. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that a mild would also be a belting partner, something like Moorhouse’s Black Cat for example.